Whether termed a screen, mesh, mat, grating or otherwise, and the welding is fusion, resistance or other form, a welded product or weldment formed of longitudinal wires or rods welded to transverse rods or wires, customarily has the welding performed at a welding station to which the longitudinal wires are fed incrementally for successive welding to the transverse rods at longitudinally spaced points or positions. As typified by the welding machines disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. to Fotie 2,422,829, Kary 3,019,326, Robinson 3,405,743, Beauvais 3,578,934, Gott et al 3,588,417 and Hirschberg 3,889,345, the prior practice for incrementally feeding or advancing the longitudinal wires between welding steps has been to pull the longitudinal wires forward through the welding station by hooks or clamps engaging the transverse rods after they have been welded to the longitudinal rods. It is to an improvement on prior machines for welding screens and the like that the present invention is particularly directed.